Psychology Midterm Study Guide/Terms – Flashcards
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psychology
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the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
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psychiatry
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the study and treatment of mental illness, emotional disturbance, and abnormal behavior
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Consult
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to seek advice or information from; ask guidance from
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Research
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the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions
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Cognitive Activities
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private, unobservable mental processes such as sensation, perception, thought, and problem solving
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Theory
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a set of assumptions about why something is the way it is and happens the way it does
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Law
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a statement of fact, deduced from observation, to the effect that a particular natural or scientific phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions are present
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Mean
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the average of the numbers
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Median
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the middle number
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Mode
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the number that occurs most often.
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Survey
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a research technique for acquiring data about the attitudes or behaviors of a group of people, usually by asking questions of a representative, random sample
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Experiment
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a controlled scientific procedure to determine whether certain variables manipulated by the research have an effect on other variables
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Correlational research
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the finding of the relationship between variables
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Independent variables
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the factor that is manipulated by the researcher to determine its effects on another variable
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dependent variables
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the factor that is being measured and that may change in response to manipulation of the independent variable
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Introspection
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an examination of ones own thoughts and feelings
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Behavior
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observable and measurable actions of people and animals
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Neuron
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a nerve cell; basic building block of the nervous system
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Myelin
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a white, fatty substance that insulates axons and enables rapid transmission of neural impulses
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Synapse
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the junction between the axon terminals of the sending neuron and the dendrites of the receiving neuron
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Spinal Cord
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a column of nerves within the spine that transmit messages to and from the brain
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Central Nervous System
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the part of the nervous system that consists of the brain and spinal cord
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Dendrites
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the branchlike extensions of a neuron that receive impulses and conduct them toward the cell body
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Axon Terminal
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small fibers branching out from an axon
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Peripheral Nervous System
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the neurons that connect the central nervous system to the rest of the body, including the muscles and glands
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Cell Body
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the part of the neuron that produces the energy needed for the activity of the cell
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Neurotransmitters
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chemical messangers that carry impulses across the synaptic gaps between neurons
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Cerebral cortex
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the body's control and information processing center
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Corpus Callosum
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the nerve fibers that connect the left and right hemispheres of the cerebral cortex
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Sensation
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the stimulation of sensory receptors and the transmission of sensory information to the brain
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Perception
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the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information
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Rods
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photoreceptor in the eye that are responsible for vision at low light levels (scotopic vision). They do not mediate color vision, and have a low spatial acuity
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Auditory Nerve
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the cranial nerve that carries sound from the cochlea of the inner ear to the brain
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Cones
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photoreceptor cells in the retina of the eye that are responsible for color vision and function best in relatively bright light
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Photoreceptors
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neurons that respond to light
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Absolute Threshold
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the smallest amount of a particular stimulus that can be detected
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Signal Detection Theory
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the idea that distinguishing sensory stimuli takes into account not only the strength of the stimuli but such elements as setting and one's physical state, mood, and attitudes
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Olfactory Nerve
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the nerve that transmits information about odors from olfactory receptors to the brain
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Difference Threshold
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the minimum difference that an individual can detect between 2 stimuli
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Afterimage
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the visual sensation that occur after the original stimulus has been removed
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Sensory Adaptation
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the process by which an organism becomes more sensitive to stimuli that are low in magnitude and less sensitive to stimuli that are constant
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John Locke
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built the principles of of associationism, theorized that knowledge is not inborn but is learning from experience
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William James
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founded the school of functionalism; "stream of consciousness"
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Frontal lobe
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Carries out higher mental processes such as thinking, decision making, planning, and voluntary movements
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Occipital lobe
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Responsible for processing visual information from the eyes
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Parietal Lobe
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Processes sensory information that had to do with taste, temperature, and touch
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Temporal Lobes
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Responsible for processing auditory information from the ears (hearing)
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Clinical Psychologist
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they help people with psychological problems, such as anxiety or depression or severe psychological disorders
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Counseling Psychologist
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they treat people who have adjustment problems rather than serious psychological disorders
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School Psychologist
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they identify and help students who have problems that interfere with learning
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Educational Psychologist
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Helps students; focus on course planning and instructural methods for school systems Focus on the measurement of abilities, learning, and child and adolescent development.
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Developmental Psychologist
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Focuses on the psychical, emotional, cognitive, and social development of people. Also attempt to sort out the influences of heredity and the environment
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Personality Psychologist
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Identify characteristics and the many traits people have. Study development traits
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Social Psychologist
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Concerned with peoples behavior in social situations
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Experimental Psychologist
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Research on basic processes, like the nervous system, sensation, perception, learning, memory, thinking, motivating
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Industrial or Organizational Psychologists
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Focus on people and work and study the behavior of those people in organizations
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Environmental Psychologist
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Focus on the ways in which people influence /are influenced by their physical environment; concerned in ways building serve of fail communities
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Consumer Psychologist
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Study behaviors of shoppers to explain and predict further behaviors
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Forensic Psychologist
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Work within the criminal justice
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Health Psychologist
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Examine the ways in which behavior and mental processes are related to physical health; study the effects of stress and health problems
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Structuralism
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the school of psychology, founded by Wilhelm Wundt, that maintains the conscious experiences in association with demands to adapt to a challenging situation
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Functionalism
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the school of psychology, founded by William James, that emphasizes the purposes of behavior and mental processes
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Gestalt Psychology
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the school of psychology that emphasizes the tendency to organize perceptions into meaningful wholes
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Behaviorism
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the school of psychology, founded by John Watson, that defines psychology as the scientific study of observable behavior
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Psychoanalysis
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the school of psychology, founded by Sigmund Freud, that emphasizes the importance of unconscious motives and conflicts as determinants of human behavior
